Need surplus ammo advice...

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SpookyPistolero

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I believe someone has asked a question similar to this before, but I dont recall seeing any real answers. I have a couple of nagants and soon a romak-3, so 7,62x54r will certainly be the cartridge I'll need should trouble arise.

I'm looking to stock up on at least a couple of thousand rounds, but am not sure what surplus ammo is worthwhile. I would prefer to stay away from anything corrossive, but am thinking that might not be possible. I take excellent care of my weapons, but I dont like to take chances either.

Is there any decent surplus stuff you guys know of or should I just stick with the wolf and forget it? (Bearing in mind I dont have nearly the funding it would take to get more than around 500 rnds of wolf...)

Thanks!

-SpookypackratPistolero
 
I had concerns too about corrosive ammo a couple of years ago but found out through some websites that it is not really a big problem. I got some corrosive 7.62x54R and 8mm from AIM Surplus and/or J&G Sales. I used the ammo in several Moisin-Nagants and Mausers without a problem. Just be sure to run a damp( not soaked) patch with either 50/50 ammonia and water or Windex with ammonia, down the barrel before you leave the range, and use the same patch to wipe off the bolt face. Then clean the weapon(s) as usual when you get home. As I recall the milsurp ammo was a lot cheaper then commercial at that time. Don't have the milsurps anymore so haven't checked prices lately. A good website for milsurps, ammo etc is milsurpshooter.net
 
Ditto what SmokeRing said. The corrosive milsurp is fine, as long as you run some ammonia through the bore BEFORE you leave the range.

From what I've read, the best Match grade 7.62x54R for your Romak-3 is Lapua's, but good luck finding any. I've been looking for some myself, to no avail.

I've also got a few M/N's and a Romak-3/PSL/FPK/SSG-97, or whatever they're being called this week. Mine is the short, "Paratrooper" version and is pretty fun to shoot.
 
If you want some 7.62x54R surplus that isn't corrosive, I think you'll be searching for a long time. There isn't any, that I am aware of. So yes, you'll have to stick with Wolf... or shoot corrosive anyway. Corrosive ammunition won't kill your rifle ten minutes after you fire it, nor will it require any strange voodoo mixtures to clean up. Water. Anything that is water based will work. Some people like ammonia or Windex but boiling water is what I prefer, when available. It dries fast and cleans the corrosive material(salt, or a cousin of it, actually) away. Regular water will work too, you just have to dry a little more.

As for decent surplus, I've heard great stuff about this stuff.
 
The Czech silvertip stuff in the link in Feanaro's post is some of the more accurate milsurp ammo, look for the blue or green box with the silvery label. It can be found fairly cheaply online (around $3 to $3.50 per box) The Russian or Albanian stuff that comes wrapped in paper and twine is not quite as accurate and some of is heavier ball either 180 or 205gr ammo. Of course the milsurp stuff is covered with lacquer so that will still be an issue with cleaning the chamber.

I just bought some of the Wolf copper ammo but haven't got a chance to try it in my 91/30 yet. It is non-corrosive but it usually runs around $5/box online.

As mentioned, the milsurp is corrosive but if you carry a small squirt bottle of Windex with Ammonia and drench the bolt face and chamber immediately after shooting you will be OK. If you have hot water available, that will work too. Follow that up with a regular cleaning and you should not have any problems.

There is commercial 7.62x54 rimmed brass available so you could reload your own if that's an option. Lee and RCBS have dies and shellholders.
 
Well, it looks like I will be biting the bullet :D on this one and getting the surplus, non-wolf. I had actually heard good things as well about the czech silver tip ammo. At $60 for 880 rnds its a hard deal to beat.

Since shooting corrossive ammo and introducing water to my firearm are both grossly against my upbringing, I want to be cautious. How do you all clean the action, mag well, etc. when it is also exposed to corrossive materials? Just some more water/ammonia on a rag?

Thanks again-

SpookyoverlycautiousPistolero
 
Shoot the corrosive in the Mosins, and Wolf in the Romak. Tell me how that thing shoots - the paratropper version looks verrrrry intriguing!
 
"Since shooting corrossive ammo and introducing water to my firearm are both grossly against my upbringing, I want to be cautious. How do you all clean the action, mag well, etc. when it is also exposed to corrossive materials?"

In practice, all you have to do is make sure the bore and bolt face are clean. Remember, your rifle would never have been selected for military service if a little water could hurt it. It almost certainly has never had anything but corrosive ammo fired in it. Just dry everything carefully and oil it before you put it away.

Tim
 
You just need ~3 patches wet with water or the old style GI Rifle Bore Cleaner to flush out the salts left over from the corrosive primers. Then a couple dry patches, followed up with your favorite bore solvent (Hoppe's, Ed's Red, or whatever).

Don't forget to wipe off the bolt face, too. And if you run corrosive ammo through a gas operated autoloader you'll need to clean out the gas system.

The main reason for using boiling water is because it evaporates quickly.

The whole ammonia thing is an Internet myth that just won't die. Ammonia will help dissolve copper fouling (hence its presence in Hoppe's, etc.) but does nothing against corrosive primer residue. The reason Windex with ammonia does a good job of removing corrosive primer fouling is because it contains a lot of water. That it comes in a convenient container is a bonus.
 
Avoid Albanian 7.62x54R!

Right now, Czech silver tip is really cheap and it happens to shoot really well.

Wolf is supposed to be non corrosive, but costs twice as much as surplus.
 
Point of clarification?

After cleaning with water or water/ammonia, do you use a second solvent? Or does the water do the trick and only oil needed after? I know it'll occasionally need a Hoppe's treatment for copper fouling, but I'm just talking about the routine cleaning.
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I clean as normal after that, little Hoppes and dry patches. Although watery patches, now that I think about it, might be a cleaner solution.
 
I watched a video where they use simple green to clean it in water and then use an air compressor to get the water out then oil it. I use all types of surplus ammo im my M39 and i only clean it with regular gun solvent and it hasn't rusted yet. Simple green is some type of natural cleaner and doesn't have powerful fumes.
 
If you shoot the corrosive surplus stuff in that Romak you're gonna be getting, also make sure to strip the gas system and ****** out the gas tube, also. It's real simple, just turn up the locking latch on the right side of the rear sight and the gas tube lifts right off; you can also ****** out the gas block while you're at it. Lotsa Chinese AK's and SKS's got their gas tubes rusted 'cuz their owners forgot to clean the gas system after a fun afternoon of blasting with corrosive 7.62X39, even if they remembered to clean the bore, bolt and gas piston.
 
my yugo m48 and k98 have had nothing but a steady diet of corrosive surplus ammo (save for maybe 100 rounds of commercial) and the bores are still very good.

when i get home i run patches and brushes through, a bore snake, and fill the bore up with windex. let it sit for 15 minutes, drain, clean until dry, and then use hoppes to get copper/powder residue removed.
 
Surplus ammo

The Czech ammunition is good stuff as far as accuracy goes.The problem a lot of people have with it is the sticking in the chamber.Some say it is the steel shell and some say the lacquer on the shell.Whatever,some of it does stick bad.On the other hand many rifles digest it with no apparent problem.
The Albanian is good stuff .Being brass cased it doesn't stick.The accuracy is very good.You can get three cans (1020 rounds) from L.C. Enterprises for $114.85 shipped.
http://www.militaryshooters.com/
But the main thing to do BEFORE you order in bulk is to obtain smaller quantities of different types and shoot them in a particular rifle and see how it performs.Some will handle it all with no problem.Some will only do well with one kind.Two rifles of the same model and year will have different preferences.One of the worst feeligs is to have 1000 rounds of something that will stick in the chamber or isn't accurate.Just spoils the shooting.
Shooting corrosive ammunition is no problem,read that as NO PROBLEM, at all to clean up after.Squirt a 50/50 mixture of water and ammonia in the bore at the range after you finish shooting while the bore is warm.Squirt down and wipe off the bolt head.Then clean normally when you get home.
 
I went ahead and picked up some of the czech silver tip from sportsmans guide at $65 (780 rnds). As soon as I did that I went bouncing around Aim surplus and saw that they had 800 rnds for $50. (I almost had to order one of the new folding stock AK's they have for sale). I will be sure and let everybody know how it functions with my pieces. Thanks for the help on the bore cleaning!

-SpookyPistolero
 
Dave M. said,

The whole ammonia thing is an Internet myth that just won't die. Ammonia will help dissolve copper fouling (hence its presence in Hoppe's, etc.) but does nothing against corrosive primer residue. The reason Windex with ammonia does a good job of removing corrosive primer fouling is because it contains a lot of water. That it comes in a convenient container is a bonus.
Click to expand...

Dave, no myth. The pH of corrosive primers forms a mild ACID. This is what, when left unattended, will cause corrosion (rust and pitting) to steels. Ammonia by itself is a Caustic or Base solution, windex has a high pH which will quicky nuetralize the acidic corrosive salts.

The same results can be achieved with a soapy solution as well, soaps are also in the high pH range.
 
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